Florida's Requirement Of 'Mental Health' Disclosures By Students Worries Parents : Shots - Health NewsFlorida school districts now have to ask if a new student has ever been referred for mental health services. It's a legislative attempt to help troubled kids. Will it work, or increase stigma instead?

"If you do say, 'Yes, my child has seen a counselor or a therapist or a psychologist,' what does the school then do with that?" asks Laura Goodhue, who has a 9-year-old son on the autism spectrum and a 10-year-old son who has seen a psychologist.
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"If you do say, 'Yes, my child has seen a counselor or a therapist or a psychologist,' what does the school then do with that?" asks Laura Goodhue, who has a 9-year-old son on the autism spectrum and a 10-year-old son who has seen a psychologist.

Andrea D'Aquino for NPR

Children registering for school in Florida this year were asked to reveal some history about their mental health.

The state's school districts now must ask whether a child has ever been referred for mental health services on registration forms for new students.

"If you do say, 'Yes, my child has seen a counselor or a therapist or a psychologist,' what does the school then do with that?" asks Laura Goodhue, who has a 9-year-old son on the autism spectrum and a 10-year-old son who has seen a psychologist. "I think that was my biggest flag. And I actually shared the story with a couple of mom friends of mine and said, 'Can you believe this is actually a thing?'"

The question was largely overlooked until parents started filling out school registration forms this summer. It was five words in a 105-page school safety bill that contained controversial measures like increasing the minimum age to buy a gun, and arming school employees.

Parents worry that the information could fall into the wrong hands and may follow children throughout their education, says Alisa LaPolt, executive director of the Florida chapter of the National Alliance on Mental Illness.

"In a perfect world, getting treatment for mental health challenges would be no different than getting medical treatment for a skin rash or a bad cold or a broken leg," LaPolt says. But that's not the world we live in right now. There is stigma around mental illness and getting treatment for it."

School districts say counselors will use the information to help Florida students get the services they need.

Some districts will only share the information with psychologists and administrators. Others say they will provide access to teachers and front office staff as well.

School counselors say they understand the stigma surrounding mental illness. Some say the way the law was written doesn't help. The mental health question was grouped with requirements to report arrests or expulsions.

"We know that the symptoms of mental health conditions and serious mental illnesses in particular tend to surface during the teen years and early 20s," Honberg says. "And that's a time when we should be putting the most resources into interventions."

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